Happy SNOW DAYS!

But believe it or not, we are already planning for our best GARDEN season yet!

Pretty soon, we will trade in our snow gloves for gardening gloves, so GET READY!

Community Garden Member Applications are NOW being Accepted!

We are now accepting applications for the 2016 growing season! Everyone is welcome to join us this season at the Mosaic Community Gardens – a safe place for the entire family to grow, learn, share and play!

For your annual one-time contribution, Mosaic will supply all of the tools, seeds, plants, dirt and water you need to grow yourself a fantastic garden! The first planting weekend is set for Saturday, May 14 – 15. We will prepare to plant, dig-in and enjoy ourselves the entire weekend! All are welcome to put down some roots with MOSAIC!

MOSAIC Makes a Statement-So Can You!

MOSAIC Community Gardens have an all-new logo! Help us spread the word, plant the seed and change our neighborhood by purchasing a T-shirt for $16 (front and back printed in sizes for the whole family), tote bag, magnet or button displaying the MOSAIC logo. Contact Mary-Beth Bacallao at flyeredup8831@gmail.com or Laura Washington at wash5000@msn.com to get your goods today!

We also have the following items for sale:

Do You Want to Build A… Garden?

MOSAIC will present “How to Design, Plan and Start a Home Garden” at Pottstown Library in late February. Please check back for date and time and details and join Tracy Purdy, our star intern, to think Spring and plan your home garden!

Thank You!

Pine Hill Farms and the Heylmun Family supported MOSAIC Community Land Trust through our annual Christmas Tree Sale and Home Garden Contest! Thank you to the Heylmuns and everyone who purchased a tree and donated to MOSAIC. We appreciate the support of the Heylmun family year after year.

Painting with a Purpose

Jackson Pollock your hero? Renoir make your heart race? Join MOSAIC and ArtFusion on Saturday, February 13! From 7-9 PM, you can let your inner Picasso shine for a good cause! BYOB and snacks, and maybe a smock or two in case you’re inspired to do some abstract art on yourself! $20 per ticket or $35 per two ticket purchase. Proceeds to benefit Mosaic/ArtFusion summer programming.

TEENAGERS WELCOME!

Beginning February 18, from 6 to 8 PM, MOSAIC will partner with ArtFusion, STRIVE, Olivet Boys and Girls Club to present My Voice, a 12-week program for teens. Healthy meal preps, art journaling, music and theatre workshops will be provided. Through fun, interactive experiences, My Voice will increase the involvement of young people in their community by asking them to visually articulate their ideal community, resulting in a visual art canvas, short film and relevant artistic renditions that define and embody the voice of young peoples’ dreams for Pottstown. This program is graciously sponsored in part by Olivet Boys and Girls Club.

On the 18th, an information session will be held prior to the workshop for parents and youth alike. A warm meal will be prepared and served by the entire group!

Please contact ArtFusion at (610) 326-2506 to register.

Together we are stronger—one community, many voices!

Amazon Smile – An Easy Way to Give and Get!

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. MOSAIC CLT is now available as your charitable organization on Amazon Smile!The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping & handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, or service charges. For more information, please go to

Saturday, June 27th, 9 am to 1 pm
Copper, aluminum, brass, steel and more.
No fee, all donations appreciated(Please drop off only during recycling hours)

Volunteer Day
will be cancelled Saturday in case of rain. Come Sunday instead!

Anytime between 10am and 3pm
We can use your help trail blazing!

Library Storytime and Nature Hike – Rocks are Lively

Monday, June 29th 11am to 12:30pm
All Ages Donation: $5
The Pottstown Library and the Althouse Arboretum will team up for this special program. Leslie Stillings, Director of Youth Services, will be our guest storytime reader. Afterwards, children will enjoy a short hike, guided by our staff, where they will climb rocks, explore the boulder field, and try their hand at “rock” experiments! You can register here

Also…We’re celebrating INTERNATIONAL MUD DAY this TUESDAY!
Free! You are sure to get messy on this day! Come anytime. Several activities will be set up for kids who like to get muddy. Build a castle in the wet sand or try out our mud walk! Warning to Parents: Be prepared for the ride home!

POTTSTOWN, PA – A used book sale will be held in the community room of the Pottstown Regional Public Library on Friday, January 30th and Saturday, January 31st. There are lots of bargains to be had. Stock up, you cannot beat the prices.

The program is for adults diagnosed with diabetes and their families. Participants will attend two-hour classes that include discussions about diabetes, exercise and cooking demonstrations.

The free program called “Dining with Diabetes” will be offered every Friday in October starting with an informational and registration session today. The classes will be taught at the Pottstown Regional Public Library from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The library is located at 500 E. High St.

Laura Washington is the Garden Manager for the Mosaic Community Land Trust. As a certified herbalist, weight and lifestyle coach, and a Level 1 CrossFit trainer, Laura has a passion for organic foods, natural healing and physical activity. She also serves as a board member for the Pottstown Karate Club. As a member of the TCN Environmental Health & Safety Committee, Laura conducts organic gardening workshops for the community. She will be facilitating two upcoming workshops this month. One will be held on Friday, April 11th at 10:30 am at the Pottstown Seniors’ Center and a second workshop on April 22nd at 6:00pm at the Pottstown Regional Public Library. “We are proud to have her as a member of the Committee,” stated Robyn Slater, committee co-chair.

POTTSTOWN, PA — It has been nearly three decades since Pottstown had a new comprehensive plan, but there is a draft on the drawing board right now that is ready for public review.

Crafted with the help of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, the current draft plan provides an overall vision for the community and suggests for how to implement that vision.

The draft calls for taking advantage of what Pottstown has — historic architecture and resources to attract heritage tourism; expanding the airport and railroad access; transitioning apartment units back to single-family ownership and appropriate development of multi-unit apartments.

LOWER POTTSGROVE TOWNSHIP, PA — The township commissioners’ decision to reconsider its 2014 funding for the Pottstown Regional Public Library has resulted in a swelling of support for the library and a number of efforts to keep the funding intact.

Earlier this month when the Board of Commissioners reorganized, the new majority announced its intention to open up the 2014 budget adopted one month earlier and reduce funding to the Pottstown Regional Public Library on High Street.

Paradoxically, in December, Lower Pottsgrove had joined with both Upper Pottsgrove and Pottstown borough in increasing the allocation to the library for 2014.

In Lower Pottsgrove’s case, the commissioners had agreed in December to increase the annual allocation by $5,000 — up to $65,000.

POTTSTOWN PA – Can residents in the Lower Pottsgrove portion of the Pottsgrove School District do what they proved capable of five years ago this month: rescue the Pottstown Regional Public Library by encouraging the township Board of Commissioners to restore proposed funding cuts? The school board’s leader is hoping for it.

The library may literally be banking on it.

A majority of commissioners announced last Monday (Jan. 6, 2014), during their reorganization meeting, that they intended to conduct a Feb. 3 (Monday) hearing in part to consider cutting $10,000 in library funding from the township’s already approved 2014 budget. The library had been allocated to receive a $5,000 increase in Lower Pottsgrove’s contribution, from $60,000 annually in each of the past five years, to $65,000 this year.

The majority last week instead suggested it wants to now lower the donation to $55,000, eliminating the increase and another $5,000 as well. Those commissioners – board President Bruce Foltz, Vice President Stephen Klotz, and new member Shawn Watson – have indicated they would prefer to put more money into the police department and other priorities.

LOWER POTTSGROVE — New township commissioners’ Chairman Bruce Foltz is the first to acknowledge that he and the new majority on the board made a lot of changes in their first meeting of the year Monday night.

In fact, he said so in comments at the close of the meeting.

“We want the staff, fire department, solicitor, and commissioners to have the same goal; for the township to be user friendly,” said Foltz at the close of Monday’s re-organization meeting during which he was elected chairman and many of the immediate changes were implemented.

“We want to bring businesses into the township and have it not be a hassle, with all the back and forth, for our contractors and developers,” Foltz said.

Individual Help Available at the Library

The reference desk in the library has two PCs dedicated to job seekers. The Reference Librarian is available for consultation. Other services include printing, scanning, and faxing. A small cost-recovery fee applies to printing and faxing.

JobNow provides on-demand access to live, expert coaches for every stage of a paton’s job search. JobNow includes Live Career Coaching,Career Resources, Expert Resume Assistance, and the Adult Learning Center.

The Pottstown Regional Public Library is located at 500 East High Street in Pottstown.